The Weekly Schmooze: Newsflash- Bar Refaeli is hot

This week, Maxim confirmed what many Israeli men believe to be true: that Bar Refaeli is the hottest woman in the world. The supermodel is number one on Maxim's Hot 100 list for 2012. Eight other Jewish women were on the list – Mila Kunis, in third place, Glee's Lea Michele at number 14, Scarlett Johansson (17), Emmy Rossum (49), Amanda Bynes (59), Family Guy mother and cartoon character Lois Griffin (85) and Kat Dennings (95). Check out Refaeli telling Conan O'Brien about how hard it is to get a date, airbrushing, and the importance of good teeth:

Movie stars from all over the world gathered in Cannes this week for the annual film festival, where an interesting piece of news was announced. Monty Python member John Cleese will be featured in Hunting Elephants, a heist comedy directed by Israeli Reshef Levi. Cleese will play a disgraced, eccentric British lord in the film about three Israeli senior citizens helping a tween rob a bank to save his family home.

If we're already on British humor, Sacha Baron Cohen gave a rare interview as himself to the BBC this week. Cohen, who has been travelling the world as his Qaddafi-based character from The Dictator, discussed why Jews are so funny.

A 60 minutes segment for this week classifying Tel Aviv as an oasis of partying and fun in the crazy, violent Middle East, has faced a lot of criticism for giving a superficial view of a place where "anything can happen anytime" but its residents "have learned not to worry." Check out the 12-minute clip and judge for yourself – and enjoy Bob Simon's awkward attempts to pronounce Israeli names.

There's a lot of Hollywood buzz about director Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role, Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway. One less-known name, at least in Israel and the US, Bollywood starAmitabh Bachchan, who is playing Meyer Wolfsheim, a fictionalized version of Arnold Rothstein, a Jewish mobster who fixed the World Series. Fitzgerald's description of Wolfsheim is blatantly anti-Semitic, with a Yiddish accent, nose hairs and cufflinks made of human teeth. Check out Bachchan's portrayal in this new trailer:

The Weekly Schmooze collects the hottest Jewish culture news from around the world. Ranging from celebrities to philanthropy to quirky communities, we're here to schmooze about Jews. If you have any news to share with The Weekly Schmooze, write to:weeklyschmooze@gmail.com